And After
by malcious lufoy
Summary: Zoro talks to Sanji and feels there's something different about him this time, and it's putting him off balance. What's going on with the cook?


**Title**: And After (stupid, stupid title)  
**Author**: emberalda  
**Pairing**: ZoSan if you read it that way...but otherwise just nakamaship.  
**Rating**: PG...or well, Pg-13 for the swearing? but c'mon, that's just expected.  
**Disclaimer**: Not mine at alllllllll wails Belongs to Oda Eiichiro.  
**Summary**: (Don't read this summary unless you want a spoiler for this fic) Um...deathfic question mark? That was kinda a spoiler for the rest of the fic >.> ; But yes, Zoro talks to Sanji and feels there's something different about him this time.

I wrote this as a kind of, what would get Zoro and Sanji to talk about stuff seriously, without snark and all that crap they pull with each other...and then it kinda morphed into this morphy thing here.

Anyways...On to the fic!

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Even in his sleep he could sense the gentle warmth of the afternoon sun through his eyelids. The feeling of light pressed through his closed eyes and caressed his face while he slept lazily at the beach, lulled into an almost comatose state by the rush and splash of the sea, and the rustling breeze overhead. He'd wandered around after leaving the ship, going around directionless through the wood before finding this secluded shore. Zoro was confident, though, that they would find him when they needed to.

A black suited figure rose from the cool shade of the forest like a sort of anti-mirage to stand lightly next to the other's supine form. A long familiar booted foot kicked him lightly in the side, catching just a little under the rib.

"What the _fuck_ kuso-cook!" Zoro's eyes shot open. He glared up at Sanji as his mind caught up with his mouth. By nature, reflexes told him which annoying crewmember did it as soon as he felt a foot shaped impact in his side. What the hell was that for and how the hell did that stupid ero-cook find him so fast? Wasn't he supposed to be on the ship?

Sanji smiled a bit. "Hey, Zoro."

The swordsman looked up sharply at the standing figure, coming out of the after-sleep haze fast. Something seemed different about the cook's face, a look he'd never seen before when they interacted. He looked...serious? No, that wasn't it. Whatever it was, it was startling him out of the lazy trance sleep usually put him in, and also made him feel slightly off balance.

"What do you want shitty cook? Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Zoro's head jerked towards the other's chest, indicating the nearly mortal wound hidden underneath the blue shirt and black jacket. He ignored the slight pang of concern that the other shouldn't be moving around so soon after Chopper was done. Stupid cook was probably only here to get him to drag some more stuff back to the ship, like he was his personal pack-animal. If he annoyed Zoro in the process, he'd most likely be doubly happy.

Sanji simply took another long drag of his cigarette before silently plopping down next to Zoro at the base of the tree. "Naw, it's not that bad, marimo." There it was again, the phrase not said with its usual ire. It sounded almost...calm, joking, even.

Zoro got that off-balance feeling for a second time. The low timbre of Sanji's voice wasn't the customary hard and scratchy tone like it generally was when they talked- well, more of fought. The swordsman furtively glanced over at their ship's cook, a bit annoyed at the sudden change. Was there something wrong with him? No 'shitty swordsman', no arguing, no baiting...what they hell was going on? They never interacted like this! This wasn't how they _were_.

Sanji's black clad arm rested across a propped knee, pointing at the clear, clean aquamarine paradise that sparkled and danced in the tropic sun. The sea seemed almost magical in how jewel like and turquoise it was lighted by the yellow haze of the afternoon.

"Oi, Zoro. Do you think All Blue would have been like that?" A breeze rustled the trees over head, the only symphony of sound besides the cook's calm voice in the strange silence of the deserted beach.

The first mate was too startled by the question and the ambush of Sanji's mood to respond right away. He lay back down against the trunk of the tree. Well, whatever this new mood was, it was...different.

"I dunno. Wouldn't it look like all the oceans?" He slightly astounded himself at saying those words as he too, gazed out at the perfect water and clean, golden beach. The overwhelming tranquility of the beach had a strange effect on him too, it seemed.

Sanji had that same quirky half-smile of his when he first came up to him at the beach, almost as if he was laughing at himself. "You know, reaching All Blue is my ultimate dream! The dream of a lifetime, for a chef. But I imagine myself there and I always wonder, what the fuck would I do then? Finding All Blue, having my wish fulfilled...I just can't imagine what it'd possibly be like. What would there be to do? Would I be there forever...have a restaurant? A place to live?" His voice slowly stopped as he took another puff of the cigarette in his hand, the last few words said softly, as if puzzled by them and their meaning.

Zoro gazed up at the large palm leaves over head, his head propped on the arms behind him. He'd never heard any of them talk about their dreams or their thoughts on them aloud like this before. They all knew what they were, but never the why and after. All the people on the Going Merry knew it was something too personal to tell easily. He didn't know what to say now, if anything at all to this revelation, so he stayed silent, not wanting to break the odd, reflective moment.

Sanji flicked his ashes at Zoro's feet, eyes wandering across the top of the shaded trees too, the dull sound of the moving sea a counter rhythm to their brief silence. "It wouldn't have been so bad, to find it then let it go, ne?" Zoro blinked at the soft tone, the sound lulling him briefly. Why did it seem so wistful? "I don't think I could have seen anyone else being there to enjoy All Blue but nakama."

A slight shifting sound was made as Zoro tried to slide further down the tree. "Che. Of course. How else are you going to find your stupid sea by yourself?" His eyes shifted uncomfortably away for a moment to look at the other end of the shore that was not in view with the ero-cook. When he felt like the embarrassment melted away a little, he looked back to see how the other was dealing with this weirdly uncomfortably, mushy moment. Zoro was astounded.

The cook had a huge, laughing grin lighting up his face, his eyes livening in way that he'd only seen when he was watching someone enjoy their meal. He was smiling, at _him_, Roronoa Zoro, and not even getting embarrassed by it or caring, or snarky, or...anything else. Just simply smiling, ripping away months of routine back-talk that became the standard to their relationship with one another. It made him feel...astounded. He'd never even known that the cook could be this way with him. Was this some weird dream?

Sanji gave a carefree laugh, throwing his head back while the wind tickled the small blonde strands that escaped his hair. The warm glint of sunshine highlighted his humor, giving him more color and life then usual and softening his features till they looked almost friendly. The feeling of something different hit Zoro over the head again, but he found that he sort of liked it.

"Well, shitty-swordsman, when you get to be the best, I hope that will be enough for you. It wouldn't have been too bad, if you just sailed around always on adventure, never reaching you goal, ne? Just us nakama against the world forever..."

Zoro had never thought about that before, it was always about the dream, always about the goal, the reasons they ever sailed in the first place. He knew he'd never be able to do it, there was too much at stake for him to think like that, but hearing it aloud...it made him wish it for a little while. It didn't sound half-bad, a dream of a dream. Nakama against the world, eh? A small smile quirked his lips. "You're such a useless dreamer, kuso-cook."

The ship's cook gave a short bark of laughter at the irony of Zoro calling him a dreamer. Burying the stub of his cigarette in the sand, Sanji stood up. His dark suit blended in with the darker shadows, making him look like he was melting away. "Oi, marimo, don't go guzzling the good vintages, Nami paid a lot for those." The last thing Zoro saw when he looked up was the stupid ero-cook smirking at him again before fading away into the shade of the forest.

"Che." Zoro turned back around to look at the sea again. The sound of waves lulled him into sleep  
again as the last reflective thoughts of their abnormal conversation floated away. He didn't think to long at the sudden odd change in the cook, the pleasures of the beach making even the worrisome thought of the other's wound fade away. A shout of his name woke him just as he was starting to get some sleep. "What is it this time?" He muttered to himself. It sounded like Nami. Why was she here? If the stupid cook was well enough to fetch him, she wouldn't go looking for him.

He heard another shout before a flash of red hair came flying out from the forest. "Zoro! You idiot!"

The swordsman got up in a flash at her scream, taking all three katanas with him as he stood in one fluid motion. He was seriously concerned. Her eyes were red, streaking with tears, her clothes torn and arms scratched from running through the forest. She looked hysterical, sharply contrasting her usual vivacious humor. "What's wrong, Nami? Did the ship get attacked?"

Nami threw him back against the tree while he was still startled, tears still leaking from her eyes as she clawed his shirt and pounding on his chest as she yelled at him. "What the fuck were you doing? We've been trying to find you for hours! I can't believe you were fucking sleeping!"

"What! Nami, calm down, what the hell's wrong with you? What's going on?"

She thrust herself away, glaring at him through her tears. "Sanji died."

His mind blanked. What the hell was she saying? He was just here a moment ago! "What do you mean he's dead? I just saw him a couple of minutes ago."

The red tendrils of her hair stuck to the wet parts of her face as she shook her head fiercely. "He didn't make it. Chopped tried, but the wound was too deep even after hours of trying...he died almost three hours ago. We've been trying to find you after you got off the ship."

Zoro's eyes widened, bewildered and bedazzled as he clutched hard to the tree behind him. What...? Dead? He just saw him, the shitty ero-cook just nagged him about drinking Nami's wine! He stared blindly down at the sand, eyes closing in on the half-crushed cigarette buried near the grass, as he felt a strange wonderment coming over him for the first time in his life.

"Sanji...?"

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Sooooo, that was the end. If you liked it, tell me, if it was OOC, tell me, and etc...


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